While 23andMe figures out a future….what happens to the genetic data? Troubled 23andMe today announced that it will be reporting its FY2025 Q2 numbers next Tuesday 12 November. An interesting part of their release is that shareholders can submit and upvote questions to management via the Say Technologies portal–and they’re blistering. They ask about the plan for recovery (132 votes, 60K shares represented), whether the company will be sold off piecemeal (128 votes, 73.5K shares) and a sale of the company (78 votes, 47.8K shares. Also questioned (38 votes, 3.4K shares): the addition of three new board members, none of whom have biopharmaceutical experience as all former CFOs outside of healthcare. These replace the seven that ankled on 17 September [TTA 17 Sept].
To Wojcicki, of course, with her reported 49.99% of voting control, shareholders’ questions aren’t really going to matter. Whether they will be addressed on Tuesday is anyone’s guess.
Many 23andMe customers have questioned how to remove their personal genetic data from their database, which if en masse will reduce the value of the company. This TechCrunch article explains how that data is not covered by HIPAA privacy regulations, but 23andMe’s own retention rules.
If 23andMe sells, the data goes with it. If there is no sale, apparently recent Wojcicki statements indicate that the model going forward for the company is the sale of that data to pharma developers and researchers, ditching its independent drug discovery, and moving into telehealth prescribing of GLP-1 drugs through its Lemonaid subsidiary.
For those concerned about their privacy, or wary of a change of ownership, accounts can be easily deleted–but not the genetic information. TechCrunch gives how to delete your account–but apparently that won’t delete your genetic information, date of birth, and gender. 23andMe will also retain limited personal information attached to your account for an undefined time. Individuals can also reverse their consent for sharing that information with researchers, but cannot remove it. 12 million people have reportedly given consent–deliberately or not. A real lesson on oversharing for millions–if they care.
What can Walgreens reasonably stop or reverse in its multiple series of Bad Decisions? A short interview at HLTH with US Healthcare head Mary Langowski indicates that there’s not much that hasn’t been already announced. We know that VillageMD is shuttering locations and is up for sale. 1,200 retail locations will be closed over the next three years. But what else to stop? “A lot of what I’ve focused on in the first six months, is really, it’s okay to stop stuff. What are we gonna stop?” While it’s totally fine to fail ‘at some things’, these weren’t small fails. Wentworth is concentrating on the new chief commercial officer selling Walgreens’ services to payers, providers, and life science companies, such as clinical trials capabilities, CareCentrix, and Shields Health. There’s also some push towards “building a standalone pharmacy business rather than a vertically integrated business”. Endpoints News
Thinking about if healthcare adopted a ‘zero-failure’ rate. Michael Alkire’s (CEO, Premier Inc., a health system operational improvement provider) daughter was on Alaska Airlines’ Flight 1282 on 5 January 2024. That was the Boeing 737-9 MAX flight that had a blowout of a mid-cabin exit door plug placed there instead of an emergency exit door. The blowout was due to four improperly installed (loose) bolts. It occurred at 16,000 feet and the lower altitude, combined with no one seated in that row, contributed to a 100% survivability rate and a successful landing, though passengers were injured. Anyone with an interest in aircraft knows that one little thing, like a worn jackscrew on a rudder or an untightened bolt, can lead to a non-survivable crash.
Mr. Alkire’s point is that we should be striving, as the airlines and aircraft manufacturers have done (which failed in this case) for zero failure in healthcare. He cites the well-known statistic that 98,000 people die each year from medical errors. We don’t have a culture of continuous performance improvement. For one, clinical innovations can take nearly two decades to become standard practice. Yet it works. Simple things, such as clinical surveillance in nursing homes, can reduce adverse drug events by 92%. Much more to ponder in this Influencer contribution to MedCityNews. (And Boeing has a long way to go to restore trust–buying back Spirit AeroSystems, the former Boeing Wichita, is a necessary start they are finally making.)
Most Recent Comments